Big Stick

Goodrich students are often faced with questions and comments like these. We know that the term "Martian" does not refer to space aliens at all, but rather to Mars, the Roman god of war. Nevertheless, explaining this fact to others has become an increasingly familiar task as the true meaning and origin of the name becomes more and more obscure.

Prior to the 1930's, Goodrich students were known as the Goodrich Gladiators. At that time, Goodrich was still a farming community and the school system had the official title of "Goodrich Rural Agricultural Schools". When the "Martian" name was adopted in the 1930's, it had a dual significance because in Roman mythology, Mars was an agricultural deity as well as a warrior. Fifty years later, the "Rural Agricultural" is gone from our name. Goodrich still has many small farms and the Martian warriors have to be reckoned with on the playing field and in the classroom.